Hong Kong Insurtech Startups Raised HK$100 Million in Series A Funding

OneDegree (also known as Bola) a Hong Kong-based insurance technology start-up under Cyberport Incubation Programme, announced the full subscription and execution of its Series A funding, with investors committing HK$100 million, plus an additional HK$100 million for future financial support at the company’s option, subject to regulatory approval.

This sum represents the largest ever fundraising round for a pre-revenue Insurtech start-up in Hong Kong.

The amount raised in the Series A funding will be used to further advance OneDegree’s technology development, expand product portfolio, support customer acquisition, and serve as the risk capital for its pending insurance operation.

The company is in the process of obtaining authorization to operate as a digital insurer in Hong Kong under the Insurance Authority’s “Fast Track” scheme launched last September.

OneDegree has built a highly scalable end-to-end digital insurance platform with the flexibility to support all personal-line general insurance and health insurance products. This proprietary platform integrates a user-friendly front-end app, making it easy for consumers to purchase and manage their insurance policies with a powerful back-end system that enables advanced analytics and automation of traditionally manual process across claims processing, policy management, and customer service.

To facilitate a fundamental change in the Hong Kong insurance industry, OneDegree has entered into partnerships with leading organizations in insurance, reinsurance and health services to pilot its technology.

Alvin Kwock, Co-founder of OneDegree, said,

Alvin Kwock

“Today’s insurance models are no different from how it was done 100 years ago, and one of the major reasons of this inertia is outdated technology systems.

We’re taking on a tall task by modernizing an industry with large incumbent players and building a highly flexible and scalable insurance technology platform from scratch.

We’re on the cusp of a new era, and our end goal is to empower customers with a smooth and seamless experience.”

Dr George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport, applauded,

Lee George Lam

“We are so proud to have OneDegree in the Cyberport family. Indeed, with devoted efforts, we have already established a strong Fintech cluster with close to 300 Fintech companies in our community. We will continue to provide comprehensive incubation, acceleration and investment support to start-ups, empowering them to drive Hong Kong’s industry transformation and new economic growth.”

Hong Kong is expected to see a boost in fintech activity after a relatively disappointing year in 2018 as the region saw a sharp dip in the total value of The post A Snapshot of Fintech in Hong Kong in 2019 appeared first on Fintech Hong Kong.